Use of various types of electrical circuits, including radio frequency identification devices (RFID) is becoming increasingly widespread as the cost of such circuitry has decreased dramatically in recent years. Decreasing manufacturing costs have permitted use of such devices in association with an ever-increasing array of products, including individual consumer products. The advent of the use of such devices facilitates efficient inventory control, generation of information pertaining to consumer buying habits, and the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,471,196, U.S. Pat. No. 6,229,443, U.S. Pat. No. 5,945,920, U.S. Pat. No. 6,130,612, U.S. Pat. No. 6,045,652, U.S. Pat. No. 5,646,446, U.S. Pat. No. 6,165,817, U.S. Pat. No. 6,320,556, U.S. Pat. No. 6,366,260, U.S. Pat. No. 6,384,727, U.S. Pat. No. 6,226,619, U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,441, and U.S. Application No. 2003/0184163, all hereby incorporated by reference, illustrate various configurations for electrical circuits including RFID's, methods for forming such devices, and arrangements for associating such devices with various products.
In a typical application, an electrical circuit such as an RFID is incorporated in a circuit assembly, which includes an associated antenna. To facilitate cost-effective manufacture, such antennas may be provided in the form of printed conductive inks, foil laminates, electrically conductive etchings, and the like. Manufacture entails operative association of the electrical circuit with the antenna, typically entailing joining two electrical connectors of the circuit in electrically conductive relationship with different portions of the antenna.
In an arrangement wherein the electrical connectors of an RFID circuit, or like electrical circuit, are positioned on one side of the circuit device, careful placement of the circuit with respect to an associated antenna is typically required to assure that the connectors are placed in the desired conducting relationship with their respective antenna portions. As will be appreciated, the need to precisely relatively position such components detracts from efficient, high-speed manufacture, undesirably increasing manufacturing costs.
The present invention is directed to a method of forming a circuit assembly, which may include a circuit in the form of an RFID, wherein efficient positioning of the circuit in operative association with an associated antenna is facilitated.